Y'all know that I am an avid fan of the Merc. This seller has made some useful mods - the brakes especially, although I have learned to live with mine (perhaps I should say that I have lived in spite of them).
A mate of mine bought one and managed to destroy the thread that holds the front luggage mounting block to the frame. Maybe they used the same dimension bolt in the soft alloy Merc frame as Brompton used in the original steel one. My block is fine, but I haven't used the luggage much and don't overload it anyway. My mate certainly did overload his and the bolt pulled out, stripped the threads and broke his block. Anita had it repaired at her expense which I wouldn't have done at all.
The bike is at £200 right now, but it could well rise since there are six days to go. Given that Anita was selling them for £330, I would n't go above pretty well where it is now or maybe another £30. I think she still has a few which she wanted to keep for some reason. Maybe you could work on her and still get a new one.
As to weight limits. The original bike never had a published weight limit on it as far as I know. It is true that the new Grace Gallant bikes (they are the manufacturers) publish a 180 pound rider weight limit, but those have a different frame design. I weigh about 170 pounds and have ridden mine 3300 miles in all kinds of rough and ready roads. The only failures were some spokes in the early days, but I think the back wheel was badly tensioned from new. They have ceased to be a problem a long time ago. I carefully inspect my frame and wheels about every 300 miles and can find no signs of flaws in either.
Last edited by EvilV; 10-20-08 at 09:47 AM.